Express - Montana School for the Deaf & Blind

Deaf/hh preschool corner
J and Bridger
get fitted with their
first Phonic Ears!
This FM system
will help them
hear their
teacher better
in the classroom.
Goalball/
enrichment Weekend
Sharon Woods, Outreach Consultant
Participants ranging in age from four years old to high school enjoyed
activities tailored to their ages and needs at our latest Goalball/
Enrichment Weekend for young people with visual impairments
on November 5-6. The kids learned the how-tos of social interaction and
manners at a birthday party. “Balloon Man” (MSDB Outreach Consultant
Steve Fugate) helped children create balloon hats and animals. They
also got to practice their social skills at a formal lunch. Orientation
and mobility training included exposure to a Talking GPS for the older
students, and finding Eddie Echo for the younger students. As always,
there were also lots of goalball activities!
For those who are unfamiliar with the game, goalball is a popular
sport for people who are blind or visually impaired. All players are
blindfolded to make the game fair, due to varying levels of sight among
the players. The object is to roll a heavy ball with bells in it past the
opposing team, which tries to block the ball with their bodies. Goalball
can get very exciting and challenging!
Support from the MSDB Foundation makes the Enrichment
Weekends possible.
GfhS, cMr
Students learn
Sign language
Gary McManus, MSDB Teacher
teaching a sign language class
i’m at Great Falls High School
this semester and it is really fun to see
the students get absorbed in wanting
to learn to sign. Some of the students
either have deaf relatives or know of
someone who is deaf, or they meet
someone at their work who is deaf. The
basic reason for this
class is to expose
the students to sign
language, but I am
also talking to them
about deaf culture.
For example, how
do the deaf hear
doorbells, bed alarms, make phone
calls, text, and use the relay services?
The students learn many verb
signs. For an icebreaker, they watch
a video, “The House that Jack Built.”
The students then each have to get up
and sign a portion of that story. They
seemed to all really enjoy doing this
one. They learn a nursery rhyme and
a Christmas song for class projects.
They must first demonstrate their
sign skills without using their voice or
the music. Then they have to sign the
rhyme while using their voice and sign
the song to recorded music to see how
well they can connect the signs to the
words.
They also learn about blindness
and how to use a cane in hallways at
the school. Finally the students get to
come to MSDB to observe classes and
to watch the Christmas Program.
This is by far their favorite thing
to do! So thanks to the teachers who
have taken them into their classes for
observations! All students go away with
a great sense of pride in being able to
sign and fingerspell.
Next semester, I will teach the
class at CMR High School.
MSDB EXPRESS 7